Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Why there are only 3 copies of Flickerwisp in RW D+T? I mean I like the card a lot and don't wan't to play less than full set? Is this because Miracles is gone but then again it's till good against Delvers and plenty of other decks?
I'm also wondering why no Serra Avenger? I'm not an expert but want to make these things clear? SA is similar as Flickerwisp good against Delver decks and is one of the few ways we have to push through the damage with TNN on the board.
Lastly I finally decided to give RW D+T a try and of course my first game was against Elves. I manage to win though with the help of Ethersworn Canonist, Containment Priest and Sudden Demise. After that I realized that RW version is indeed quite a bit of better against Elves and while not make the mu good makes it reasonable at least which is good enough for me given the fact how bad the mu otherwise is. Another thing is that Magus of the Moon is really sweet. I still remember my friend went 6-0 at the local store a while back with Painter and it was mostly due to Blood Moon.
That said I must admit that I probably gave too little credit to the RW D+T till now and that it's indeed a good deck although I still love mono white version. So, in the upcoming future I'll stick with the RW version due to Elves and because free wins here and there that Magus provides are always nice.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
I really agree with the assessment of dropping Flickerwisp. I think it was Bahra who said it, "Once you play enough with Death and Taxes, you realize Flickerwisp is great and always a 4-of." This is my assessment and I totally agree with it. I also was aware of the SoFaI use against TNN. I'll stick with it going forward and don't get me wrong I love the card, but if TNN doesn't become the force we expect, I think cutting is very reasonable. Just thinking outside the box here. That being said I have been working a little and built a solid mono-white deck that I played vs Lands, Grixis Delver, Storm, and 5C Control. I had a winning record against everything but storm and I at least felt like I had a shot vs storm. Anyhow here's the list:
4 Mother of Runes
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Flickerwisp
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Mirran Crusader
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Serra Avenger
4 Aether Vial
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
11 Plains
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Containment Priest
SB: 2 Council's Judgment
SB: 2 Path to Exile
SB: 2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
SB: 2 Rest In Peace
SB: 1 Sanctum Prelate
SB: 1 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Flickerwisp is insane. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn't played the deck enough.
In the mono white builds, 4x Flickerwisp is absolutely correct. In the RW build, I'm not sure if we have space for all four plus all the other stuff. I think we need more [true] two drops right now. There is an absolute ton of combo running around. In lists that don't run pingers, I might cut a Recruiter to bring back the fourth Flickerwisp.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Why exactly is everyone putting batterskull back in the main?
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Medea_
Flickerwisp is insane. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn't played the deck enough.
In the mono white builds, 4x Flickerwisp is absolutely correct. In the RW build, I'm not sure if we have space for all four plus all the other stuff. I think we need more [true] two drops right now. There is an absolute ton of combo running around. In lists that don't run pingers, I might cut a Recruiter to bring back the fourth Flickerwisp.
Oh I can totally see it in the splash versions. By the way it felt really nice to not have 10 3-drops and have 8 instead. Something to be said for that. List felt real solid and consistent.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Medea_
Flickerwisp is insane. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn't played the deck enough.
In the mono white builds, 4x Flickerwisp is absolutely correct.
Truth.
On this note has anyone tested/considered testing Glimmerpoint Stag? Or the new cat that's apparently rocking standard right now? Not saying they'll be good, but... it'd be very nice to run nine wisps. They're never dead.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DarthVicious
Truth.
On this note has anyone tested/considered testing
Glimmerpoint Stag? Or the new cat that's apparently rocking standard right now? Not saying they'll be good, but... it'd be very nice to run nine wisps. They're never dead.
I hope we can agree that Stag is a weak Flickerwisp. If you can start a description of a card that way, it really does not make the cut except occasionally in combo.
...What cat?
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Finn
...What cat?
Felidar Guardian. Never mind, that's worse than the Stag now that I read it. Only flickers your permanents, costs four, and is 1/4.
Stag is a weak Flickerwisp, but these are the only cards that produce this effect from what I can tell. Displacer is close enough for me to get repeated uses out of birth triggers.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
If I wanted more Flickerwisps, I'd just play a Displacer or a Restoration Angel. Those cards are great, but even they are at the edge of playability in this shell.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
c2232
Why exactly is everyone putting batterskull back in the main?
SoWaP was really good against the mirror and Miracles. With Miracles gone, it is probably not the right way to hedge anymore.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Medea_
SoWaP was really good against the mirror and Miracles. With Miracles gone, it is probably not the right way to hedge anymore.
True, I'm just not so sure Batterskull fills any sort of need. I'm thinking other swords could be good, maybe even a second Jitte.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Has anyone ever tested Basilisk Collar?
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iatee
Has anyone ever tested Basilisk Collar?
I played it for like one day. It was fun.
In a red build with pingers and a bunch of first strike creatures, it might be fine. I'm not sure it fits any role we *need,* but it is interesting. I'm not sure where I fall on the pinger vs Sudden Demise train as well.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Medea_
I played it for like one day. It was fun.
In a red build with pingers and a bunch of first strike creatures, it might be fine. I'm not sure it fits any role we *need,* but it is interesting. I'm not sure where I fall on the pinger vs Sudden Demise train as well.
Which pinger are you liking the most? Sorry to pester with all the questions, but I need to buy all the extra colored splash cards.
I like the idea of Goblin Sharpshooter (once I purchase my second and third plateaus I will try it), but I am just curious where you testing is leading you as I purchase the pieces needed.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iatee
Has anyone ever tested Basilisk Collar?
Yes, and it doesn't do enough imho. Strapping it onto a pinger is cute, but that's about it. Equipment has to boost stats (or be bonkers-broken like Jitte) for D&T to matter. I'd rather play Quietus Spike (which I've never tried), because it turns any leftover critter into a respectable clock.
Goblin Sharpshooter has been too slow in my testing (with Imperial Taxes) in the matchup where it matters most (Elves!) - if it had haste, things would look different, but turn-4-at-best is too late too often.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
vtml1984
Which pinger are you liking the most? Sorry to pester with all the questions, but I need to buy all the extra colored splash cards.
I like the idea of Goblin Sharpshooter (once I purchase my second and third plateaus I will try it), but I am just curious where you testing is leading you as I purchase the pieces needed.
Iatee has played Cunning Sparkmage and Fireslinger in the past, I believe. I conceptually like Sharpshooter (the idea of wiping the opposing board is really appealing), though it is a touch slower than other options, and not a human if you are on a Cavern build. The real question is whether pingers are better than Sudden Demise.
Edit: Someone tried Quietus Spike on MTGS once. It didn't perform well and we didn't hear much about it.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Yeah, I have tried all the pingers at this point. Sharpshooter is a very powerful card for 3 mana but the surprise factor of Sparkmage is worth a lot and...it's human. I also like Fireslinger quite a bit, I think Sparkmage is marginally better but not drastically better.
One thing that nobody has been doing (that seems reasonable for our new meta) is playing multiple copies of pingers. Like if 2-3 Sudden Demises is justifiable, 2-3 Sparkmages should be too, or perhaps a mix.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Medea_
Flickerwisp is insane. Anyone who argues otherwise hasn't played the deck enough.
In the mono white builds, 4x Flickerwisp is absolutely correct. In the RW build, I'm not sure if we have space for all four plus all the other stuff. I think we need more [true] two drops right now. There is an absolute ton of combo running around. In lists that don't run pingers, I might cut a Recruiter to bring back the fourth Flickerwisp.
I might go back to playing the 4th Wisp. I had originally cut the 4th Wisp because I wanted to find a way to put Pia and Kiran Nalaar in the maindeck. Once resolved, it was as good or better than Flickerwisp in fair match ups.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
One very marginal thing to note is that you can flicker Cunning Sparkmage for an extra ping, but you can't do so with any of the other pingers.
Re: [DTB] Death and Taxes
with the up-tick in storm, is it worth considering 1-2 thorn of amethyst or extra Vryn in the board? possibly in place of 1 gideon (I've been on the RW build with 1 in the board) seems strong to me and worst case scenario they have to decide whether their artifact removal is better used on our equipment or the thorn. yes, i know its not tutorable, and ive only been playing this deck on and off for a few months so take this with a grain of salt. just want to flesh out an idea.